A Witch's Curse
by Insanity-Plus
Summary: A witch's curse is a terrible thing, especially when powered by scorn. IchiRuki. OOC Orihime. Dark. R&R!


**Who's this stranger posting to Fanfiction? Oh snap, it's me! **

**I've been gone so long, and I'm deeply sorry everyone. I've been so caught up in publishing my book and writing the sequel and such. But I never forgot Fanfiction! I've got a few one-shots in the works that I tend to when I need to step away from the big book, and hopefully you'll be seeing more of me very soon!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters used within this Fic! Nor do I own the rights to the music used in this Fic! They all belong to their respected owners! Please support the official release!**

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_Bless upon me, Lord of Earth, the ability to take my own energy and curse those that have betrayed me. Bestow upon me the power of transformation, so that my enemies may suffer._

* * *

It started with a pot.

Orihime easily obtained a large pot. In today's age all you needed was enough money and you could have almost anything. She found the perfect pot online and had it priority delivered in three days. It took up a good portion of her living room, her table set aside in order to make room for it.

The pot was the easy part. It was the next part that was hard.

She needed to collect the necessary ingredients for her plan to work. The first were the right medallions. Medallions themselves were not too hard to find, though very costly, but to find the right ones was tricky. She spent a good two weeks searching online for the ones she needed, making sure the symbols were right on the copper coins. There were a few times she got fakes, but she persevered and got the correct ones in due time. She had to pull triple shifts at her bakery to be able to afford everything she needed, but it was well worth it.

Next came the herbs. For what she wanted to do, all she needed was an ounce of aconitum. That was very difficult to get, as they didn't just sell that stuff in stores. She had to take time off from work to "go camping." She went mountain climbing to find the right plant, and boy it was not an easy find. She brought a plethora of fauna textbooks to make sure she found the aconitum. And when she did find it, she knew at that moment that her wishes would come to life.

With all of these finally together, she set up the ambiance in her living room. She must have lit over a hundred candles in her apartment around the pot, all of different colors and shapes as per instructed. Everything she did was shown to her through a special book. It was leather bound, thick and dusty. On the front was the engraving of a crystallized hibiscus flower, similar to the hairpins passed down to her from her ancestors through her brother. The book came from her grandmother, saying not to use it unless she was certain she wanted to use it.

And right now, she was certain she wanted to use it.

Stirring the water in the pot, Orihime checked her grandmother's book that she had propped up against one of her shelves. She needed to make sure she put the ingredients in the right order at the right time. She nodded in affirmation as she grabbed the bowl that had everything she needed inside of it. Reading the slightly faded text, Orihime began to collect the medallions and drop them in order into the pot. She began to mutter the incantation as she did so:

"_Benedic mihi Dominus terrae meae vires industria et maledicam qui me tradidit. Mihi potestatem tribuas mutationem patiatur, ut meis._"

She reached into the bowl and pulled out the aconitum. She held up the purple flower and admired its deadly beauty for a moment before dropping it into the pot and reaching back into the bowl. She pulled out a single glass vial. Inside were four strands of hair, two a raven color and the other two an orange.

This was probably the most difficult to acquire. For in order to achieve these strands of hair, she needed to be clever. And clever she had been.

Uncorking the vial, she held it over the pot of water and drew in a deep breath.

"Curse these two heathens for what they have done," Orihime murmured, as was instructed from the book. She turned the vial over, letting the hairs fall into the pot.

"Feel my pain...Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia."

[~]

"That move sucked,"

Rukia's face immediately turned a bright shade of red. "No it didn't!" she yelled at her boyfriend, feeling indignation rising in her chest.

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You kidding me? A movie where a dog can play basketball? That's just ridiculous."

Rukia blew air into her cheeks, glaring at him. "You obviously can't appreciate good cinema, what with your dumb brain being saturated with those stupid action flicks."

"Hey!" Ichigo retorted. "Don't knock a good action movie!"

"Well don't knock a good sports film!"

"That wasn't a sports movie! It was a damn dog-"

Rukia pounced, jumping on top of him and smothering his face into the pillows of the couch. He started shouting, his voice muffled as she put all her weight on top of him.

"Eat microfiber upholstery, you overgrown baboon!" she laughed, struggling to keep him down.

Ichigo twisted his body around and was able to grab the back of her shirt and pull her back enough to take a large gulp of air. He was ready to scream at her but when heard her joyous laughter all anger seeped out of him. The look of childish joy on her face was cute, and he couldn't help but not be mad at her.

"Revenge!" But there was still his pride to consider.

"No! Ahh!" Rukia squealed as Ichigo grabbed one of the couch pillows and pushed it down onto her face, applying enough force to keep her down but not enough to actually suffocate her. She turned her head and continued to laugh, trying to push the pillow off of the side of her head, kicking her legs at his torso as he laughed above her.

"Say uncle!" he commanded. "Say uncle and I'll let you go!"

"Uncle! Uncle!" Rukia conceded, giggling uncontrollably. Ichigo pulled away the pillow and grinned down at her, both of them laughing.

They sat there for a few moments, laughing and enjoying each other's company. Ichigo leaned down and placed his head next to hers, letting his chuckles subside. Rukia turned to him, smiling brightly as their eyes met. He let the laughing stop completely as he leaned in and kissed her, their lips meeting softly as they molded perfectly together. Ichigo cupped her cheek and pulled her closer, the kiss deepening as she pressed her body against his, arching up to meet him. She bit his lip, and he growled seductively as his free hand moved down her side, making her moan softly against his mouth.

Ichigo could feel their excitement growing, and was ready to begin peeling off clothing when suddenly a loud _DING _rang in the kitchen. Rukia pulled away, her eyes widening.

"Shit! The teriyaki!"

She pulled herself out from under him, running into the kitchen to pull the teriyaki chicken out from the oven. Ichigo sat there for a moment, feeling his erection pulsating in his pants, a sad reminder that he just got cock-blocked by fucking chicken.

"Damn," he sighed, leaning back onto the couch, running a hand over his face.

"Sorry!" Rukia yelled from the kitchen. "I completely forgot about the dinner!"

"It's okay," he called back, a little flat toned. "I forgot too."

"Just gotta apply the sauce," she said. "Will be done in a moment."

"Alright," he breathed, trying to calm his racing heart. She drove him wild every time they touched, and having been denied the feel of her naked body against his was a huge let-down.

"Oh, guess who I talked to today!" Rukia suddenly hollered.

"Who?" he replied, turning off the television.

"Orihime," she said.

Ichigo froze.

"Oh…really?" he tried to hide his panic.

"Yeah, ran into her at the store during lunch. She seems to be doing well now. I think she's finally moved on."

Ichigo let loose a sigh of relief. There were so many ways that his current girlfriend and his ex-girlfriend talking could have gone wrong, especially when said ex-girlfriend has been practically stalking him since the day they broke up.

"I really hope so," Ichigo said softly, just barely loud enough for Rukia to hear.

"Weirdest thing though," Rukia continued. "She said there was something in my hair and pinched me. She got all skittish after that and practically ran out of the store."

Ichigo frowned. "Oh yeah? That's odd."

"Yeah," she replied. "She ever do such a thing to you?"

Ichigo thought for a moment, blinking as realization hit him. "Actually, yeah. She did something like that the last time I saw her."

"Really?" Rukia walked back into the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"Yeah," he opened his arm to let her snuggle up against his side. "She tripped and grabbed my hair to catch herself. Hurt like hell. She started apologizing and ran away before I could even say anything. I haven't seen her since."

"Hm," Rukia hummed. "When was that?"

He raised a brow at her. "I don't know…like two weeks ago?"

"Why were you guys hanging out?" she asked, not looking up at him, but rather staring down at her fingers as they tapped on his leg.

"We weren't," he said, furrowing his brow. "She just showed up at the hospital. Why are you asking?"

"No reason," she quickly responded.

Ichigo stared down at her, pursing his lips. "Rukia."

"Yes?"

"You don't need to be jealous."

"I'm not!" Rukia shot up, flustered. "Why would I be jealous?"

"I don't know," he said, cupping her cheek so she looked him in the eye. "You have no reason to be jealous. Orihime and I broke up a long time ago, and no matter how much she tries I won't ever go back to her. I love you, and nobody else."

Rukia blushed, a small smile gracing her lips. "I love you too, Ichigo."

Ichigo smiled back, leaning in to place a kiss to her lips. She giggled, kissing him back. Just before the kiss could become more heated, Ichigo's stomach growled loudly and he cringed.

"Ugh, got to go use the bathroom," he said, jumping from the couch and jogging down the hall.

Rukia rolled her eyes. "That's attractive," she said teasingly.

"You know it, baby!"

Rukia laughed, standing from the couch and making her way into the kitchen to make their plates.

[~]

With his business done and the toilet flushed, Ichigo went to the sink to wash his hands before dinner. He looked up into his reflection, inspecting his tan complexion and spiky orange hair – a little mussed up from his make-out session with Rukia. He couldn't help but chuckle and think about how lucky he was to have her.

His stomach gave another rumble, and he groaned. He placed his hand over his gut, feeling acid bubbling inside. He began to feel nauseous, his face starting to grow hot.

"Oh man," he moaned, cupping his hands and filling them with water. He splashed his face, trying to cool off his heated skin.

Ichigo wiped the droplets from his face as he leaned over the bathroom sink. His head was a little fuzzy, but it had cleared up after splashing the water on his face. He closed his eyes to take a slow breath, shaking his head before he looked up into the mirror at his reflection once again.

His skin had paled slightly, he noticed. His eyes were sunken and his complexion was worn. Why was he in such a state? He had felt completely fine ten minutes prior. This sudden wave of sickness made no sense.

"Maybe I should go get checked by Ishida," Ichigo murmured as he sighed, trying to combat the nausea that was rising in his stomach. His mouth was beginning to go numb, his gums tingling slightly. He leaned closer to the mirror, opening his mouth wide to inspect the inside. They looked fine, no discoloration or aberrations... so why were they starting to hurt?

He went to hook his index finger in his mouth to pull up his lip to get a better look, but the second he touched his mouth a shot of pain went through his gums and he winced. He groaned, the pain growing all throughout his mouth. He gagged, the pain spreading down his throat and into his chest, his heart pounding loudly in his ears. The world around him started to swirl, his limbs growing stiff as he tried to right himself against the bathroom sink.

"What the hell is happening?" he groaned, closing his eyes and trying to calm down. Was he having a panic attack? But why? He was perfectly relaxed before coming to the bathroom.

The pain began to intensify, and he couldn't hold in an agonized moan, his legs threatening to buckle out from under him. He forced himself to stay standing, opening his eyes to look into the mirror, only to be horrified by what he saw.

His eyes, once a deep brown, were now yellow…_glowing _yellow.

"The fuck-"

Pain shot through his side, running up through his body and straight into the center of his head. Every atom in his body was colonized by this sudden and unnatural assault, panic overtaking his senses. He doubled over and screamed.

"_Rukia!_"

[~]

"Ugh, my stomach…" Rukia moaned, rubbing her gurgling belly. She had just been hit with a sudden wave of nausea, and wondered if it was something she ate earlier starting to hit her. She grabbed a glass and poured herself some cold water, taking small sips to help settle her stomach.

"Ah," she sighed, feeling a little better. She was about to place the cup in the sink when Ichigo's voice boomed from the bathroom, calling her name.

"Ichigo?!" Rukia ran from the kitchen into the hall. "Ichigo? What's wrong?!"

"_Argh!_" Ichigo screamed again, his voice gnarled.

"Ichigo!"

Rukia grabbed the handle to the bathroom door, but the muscles in her hand seized and she couldn't twist it open. She yelled out as her knuckles throbbed immensely, pain radiating up her arm to her elbow. She clenched the doorknob with strength she didn't know she had, crushing it in her palm like an egg. She pulled her hand back and stared down at it, watching in shock as her fingernails began to blacken and elongate.

"Wh-Wha-" she sputtered, but the words died in her mouth as pain stabbed her in the chest and a scream erupted from her throat. She fell onto her back, writhing as bones began to crunch in her body. The pain spread throughout her being, climbing to the top and placing its stake on her world. She could hear Ichigo calling her name, but his voice sounded far away. So, so far…

[~]

"Rukia!" Ichigo slammed his hands against the bathroom door, trying to bust it down. He heard her give another shrill scream, and his instincts went wild with the need to protect her. He tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge, as if it were broken. He growled and kicked at the door, trying to get to his girlfriend.

_What the hell is happening?_ his mind screamed, the voice of his own thoughts muffled by the frayed nerves of his pain-addled body. His gums began to bleed, and he spat a giant wad of blood and saliva onto the door in front of him. He stared at the blood in morbid awe, hearing the cracking of his teeth as they moved apart in his mouth. He groaned, something piercing through his gums and replacing his incisors.

He reached up and found four long fangs protruding from his mouth, dripping with his blood and spit. He began to hyperventilate, turning his hand around as his knuckles popped and his fingernails began to sharpen. Claws grew from his fingers, black and hooked like the unclipped nails of a movie villain.

Another wave of pain smacked into him and he roared, his voice mangled and vicious. He braced himself against the bathroom door, his clothes beginning to tear as the girth of his torso began to increase. He whimpered, the pain too much to handle. He didn't understand why this was happening, and as each second passed he could feel his mind slipping.

Ichigo was grounded by the sound of Rukia screaming outside the bathroom. He fought through the pain, using his newly formed weight to crash against the door, rocking it on its hinges. The door cracked down the middle, and he went headfirst into the crack and obliterated the door outwards. He tumbled to the ground, pieces of wood stabbing him in the face and cutting the skin of his cheeks.

"Ichi_**go**_!" Rukia's voice called to him, the last syllable of his name spoken through a bestial growl. He lifted his head and stared at the sight in front of him.

Rukia had torn off her shirt with the claws that grew from her fingertips, exposing her swollen breasts. Her mouth was dripping blood, her teeth replaced by a row of sharp teeth not meant to fit in a human mouth. Her once beautiful violet eyes were now glowing yellow, twin lavas that burned as she stared back at him. The muscles in her torso were shifting, hardening into tougher meat. The shape of her body was disproportioned, and her face was twisted in extreme pain.

Just like he knew his was as well.

"Rukia…" Ichigo forced himself up and crawled over to her. She cried out, tears running down her cheeks as she reached to him, clawed hands clasping together. He pulled her into his chest and held her, both of them shaking terribly from the tremors running through their bodies.

"Wh-What's…?" Rukia tried to speak, but her throat was seizing and she could barely breathe no less talk.

"I don't know," he replied, trying to grit through the pain and comfort her. Even though he felt like he being torn apart by hooks doused in acid he still felt a basic urge to soothe her. "It's okay…I'm here…"

"Ichigo…" Rukia looked up at him, her mind beginning to slip under a blanket of something she didn't understand – something animalistic. "I love you, Ichigo."

He stared into her glowing eyes, feeling hair beginning to grow on his cheeks and down his neck, thick and russet colored like fur. He forced a smile, pressing his forehead against hers as they slipped away, speaking one last time before it happened…

"I love you too, Rukia."

[~]

The second she heard the screams, she knew the curse had worked.

Orihime stood outside of Ichigo and Rukia's home, smiling to herself as the full moon shone brightly behind her, the light beaming directly on the house as if the moon itself wanted to punish the two inside. She waited until the screams of agony turned to howls of anguish before making her way towards the front door, the necklace she had enchanted dangling from her neck. She waved her hand and the door swung open, granting her access to the home of her ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend.

She found them lying in the hallway outside the destroyed bathroom door, whimpering and tangled together. They were scared, unable to understand this new shape and what came with it. She stared down at them, marveling at the creatures they had become.

Both were covered in thick fur, Ichigo's a burnt orange and Rukia's a midnight black. They had grown in size, Ichigo larger than Rukia, to the size of bears, their hands now paws and adorned with razor sharp claws that dug and tore up the carpet beneath them. Their faces had elongated into snouts, between their rubbery lips a set of dangerous fangs.

They were wolves, but larger and stronger. Orihime had transformed the man who broke her heart and his harlot into beasts, monsters that were now irrevocably under her command.

"You shouldn't have left me, Ichigo," Orihime said, catching the attention of the wolves. Their yellow eyes sighted her and growls erupted from their chests. They untangled from each other and stood, barring their fangs at her. She laughed at their feeble attempts at intimidation. They wouldn't be able to hurt her, no matter how badly they wanted to.

"I warned you that if you left I wouldn't forgive you," she continued, grabbing the necklace around her neck and holding it up for them to see. They winced, feeling the magic coming from the object that held control over them. She smirked, holding it higher so they would lie on their bellies in submission.

"I _loved _you, Kurosaki Ichigo, and you took that love and threw it away!" Orihime yelled, making the wolves, especially the male, wince. "You said I was 'clingy' and 'obsessive,' called me these names and left! Broke my heart! But that wasn't enough for you, was it? You had to fall for this weak, loud woman! This _whore _who seduced you with her large home and open legs."

Orihime curled her lip in disgust at the sight of the female wolf formerly known as Kuchiki Rukia.

"I saw you pining after him," she said, her voice laced with hatred. "I saw the way you looked at him; saw how you'd gravitate towards him. You stole him from me, I know you did! If it weren't for you he would have never left me!"

Orihime swung her arm and smacked the female across the head, making her yelp and whine. The male wolf jumped up and growled, threatening Orihime. She looked down at the creature that used to be Kurosaki Ichigo, and scoffed.

"You can't hurt me," she said, yanking the enchanted necklace from her neck and holding it over him, making him back off. "I am in control of you now. As long as I hold this necklace I command you. You are now my _slave._"

The Ichigo-wolf stared at the necklace dangling from her clenched fist, its eyes seemingly pensive. She shook this thought away, knowing there was no way for these beasts to have higher cognitive function.

"I'm going to make sure every day is hell for you both," Orihime said, the twisted grin returning to her face. "Even when in human form I will control you, and I am going to make sure you suffer. Especially you," she turned to the female wolf. "I'm going to make you feel like the whore you are, and Ichigo is going to watch. Do you understand me?"

The female wolf whimpered, lowering its head.

"That's what I thought," Orihime cackled.

The male wolf saw how the female was dominated and growled low in its throat. Its eyes locked onto the necklace, the thing stopping it from coming to the female's rescue. It looked at Orihime, noticing how her attention was on the other wolf. It saw its opportunity, and took it.

Orihime wasn't able to react fast enough. She heard the roar of the wolf behind her and couldn't move in time to dodge the swipe of its claws. She screamed as they tore into her arm, breaking the skin and slicing to the bone. She dropped the necklace, blood splattering onto the carpet as she fell to her knees wailing. She brought her injured arm to her chest, cradling it in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

"Mangy cur!" Orihime screeched, turning to the male wolf. She glared, her gray eyes shining with magic. "I'm going to make sure you regret that!"

She tried to reach for the necklace, but the Ichigo-wolf lunged and stepped on it, blocking her from even touching it. She gasped, looking up into the snarling face of the beast in front of her.

"Stop! Get away!" she demanded, trying to enforce her will onto the wolf. But it didn't budge, and instead snapped its jaws in anger.

"Y-You can't hurt me!" Orihime yelled. "I am your master! I made you! I made you like this!"

She regretted those words almost immediately, as both wolves rounded on her and roared.

"_No!_"

Orihime's screams didn't echo. She wasn't given enough time to outwardly express her frustration at her failure before the twin howls of the wolves rang out into the night.

[~]

The fire raged in the copper barrel as Ichigo tossed another block of wood into it, stroking the other pieces of wood to help stir the flames with his poker.

Rukia stood behind him, her eyes hollow and devoid of emotion. She held in her hand the enchanted necklace, clenching it tightly as if to crush it like she had the doorknob the night before. She watched the flames dance in the barrel, feeling very little other than overwhelming _fear._

"Alright," Ichigo sighed, running a hand through his wet hair. Both of them had jumped in the shower immediately after waking up and scrubbed each other's bodies rigorously. Even now as their skin was clean and their hair damp and strawberry scented they both felt _dirty. _

Rukia stepped forward, standing by his side as she lifted the necklace over the fire. She let it fall, watching it land in the fire and immediately start to turn black. The necklace burned, the magic that was used to control them disappearing forever.

They stood in silence, watching the cursed object die.

"Do you…" Rukia choked, breaking the tense quiet, fighting back tears. "Do you think it will happen again?"

Ichigo turned towards his girlfriend, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his chest. She sobbed, hugging him back.

"I don't know," he said, glancing towards the door that led into their house from the backyard. There, on the inside of the door, was a streak of blood.

Orihime's blood.

"I'm sorry, Rukia," he whispered, burying his head into her hair. He inhaled her scent, noticing how it was much more potent than ever before. It made him dizzy, but it comforted him as he fought back his own tears.

They held each other by the flaming barrel, both wallowing in despair as they stared into the embers. The necklace cracked and broke, charred beyond repair, but the fear stayed solid within them both as the dawn of a new day shined at their backs.

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**An open ending, something I seem to be doing a lot with my stories. You get to decide if they're now cursed forever or if it's over with the perishing of the necklace. Decide at your leisure.**

**I can promise all day that I'll be back regularly with new stories, but it won't mean a lick of nothin' if I don't follow through. Like I said before, I've got a few IchiRuki one-shots in the works and it all depends on if the inspiration hits me if they get finished. I got this one done when I woke up last night and had the urge to write. I've been wanting to post something new here for a long time, and that desire burned bright enough to allow me to finish this!**

**Hope you guys enjoyed!**

**REVIEW!**

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**P.S. I want to clarify something. In previous stories I've gotten reviews complaining that I bash Orihime by using her as the villain/victim. I don't hate Orihime. I'm not making an Anti-IchiHime statement by using her as the villain/victim in my stories. It's merely because it's more convincing to use her character. It'd be harder to believe **_**Momo**_** doing all of this, would it not?**

**Thank you. **


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